GRASKOP – The high-profile human trafficking trial failed to resume yesterday due to a television being broken in court. It is usually used for underaged victims to testify in camera in the Graskop Magistrate’s Court.
Prosecutor Ms Isabet Erwee stated that the trial had to be postponed until today.
High-profile businessman Mr Lloyd Mabuza (60) and his accomplice Ms Violet Chauke (20) are being charged with the human trafficking of five girls from Mozambique for sexual purposes. Previously both had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial will continue in camera as the five minors testify.
Officials of the Mozambican government and the National Prosecuting Authority are attending the court proceedings.
Previously during the trial, one of the victims pointed directly at Mabuza as the man who had raped her repeatedly and kept her prisoner in a compound in Rhenosterhoek in Sabie. She was one of the five who had apparently been brought to South Africa under false pretences of attending school and leading a better life.
The five girls, aged 10 to 16, were kept captive for four years until one of them escaped and got help in 2012. The Lowveld is a potential trafficking hot spot because of its proximity to Mozambique and Swaziland. Both countries are experiencing economic and social turmoil which often results in an increase in the sex trade of women and children.
